Residential and Nonresidential Construction Employment Continues to Grow in January

A closer look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics nonfarm payroll report released on Friday, with a focus on construction sector employment and additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that overall employment in the construction sector increased by 11,000 positions in January, following an upwardly revised 24,000 gain in December.

Residential construction added 2,700 jobs, while nonresidential construction employment increased by 7,600. According to NAHB analysis, residential construction employment was at 3.3 million in January, broken down as 938,000 builders and 2.4 million residential specialty trade contractors. The 6-month moving average of job gains for residential construction was 5,083 per month.

Over the last 12 months, on a net basis, home builders and remodelers added 60,100 jobs. Since its low point following the Great Recession, residential construction has gained 1,350,300 positions.

In January, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for construction workers rose by 0.7 percentage points to 5.2%. The unemployment rate for construction workers has remained at a relatively lower level, after reaching 14.2% in April 2020, due to the housing demand impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.